Indoor Voice 11/26/2018

A Word from Our Director

Community Goal
Throughout the year we will be asking the entire membership to focus on particular aspects of the curriculum. Our ultimate goal, or our key goal, is to concisely communicate the school’s philosophy to each family. This week let’s think about sharing.

Our approach to sharing can seem counter intuitive when you first hear about it. We actually train parents to stop forcing children to share and in doing so, we teach children to be generous. It can seem like a crazy flip of logic, but once you see it in action, it makes perfect sense.

The reason our approach to sharing works so well is that it implicitly trusts the children to take risks, try new things and to learn from the experience. They learn that waiting is ok, even if it is hard. They learn that hoarding a lot while others don’t have enough isn’t as satisfying as one would think. Most of all, they learn, eventually, that when you have enough, you can let go of what you don’t need. This lesson is one that many adults forget, and I’m so grateful to the children who remind us.

This month, let’s model generosity and concern for our fellow citizens. Please support our annual food drive. It is a great lesson for the children and reminder for us grown ups. When we have enough, we can share with those who don’t.

Canned Food Drive
This month, help us feed those who might be hungry, and show your children how much you care. On your workday, please bring in some canned food and place it in the bin in your child's classroom. Our goal is to use the cans to stack, count, and sort. In a few weeks we will donate the cans to the food bank. Concepts such as hunger and poverty are hard for children to grasp. The SF Food Bank is looking for canned vegetables, soups, chili, baked beans, proteins (meat and tuna).

RAIN! Wonderful, glorious RAIN!!!
Yay. The rain is here to clear the air, clean the streets and free the children. Be sure to be ready for rain on your workday this week. You will very likely be outside in the rain at some point. Send kids with well labeled raincoats and rain boots.

Thank you!
Thank you to everyone for supporting the staff, children and each other during the past couple of very trying weeks. Thank you to the parents who worked so hard to keep the program humming, despite the smoke and worry. Thank you to our wonderful staff for showing up and being so professional. Thank you to all the folks who offered support and caring to other families.

Here is a little story shared in memory of sweet Susie Stone, co-oper extraordinaire!
THE GOOSE STORY
Next fall, when you see geese heading South for the Winter, flying along in V formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way: as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are.

When the Head Goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs with people or with geese flying South.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What do we say when we honk from behind?

Finally, and this is important, when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gunshots and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly, or until it dies. Only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

IF WE HAVE THE SENSE OF A GOOSE, WE WILL STAND BY EACH OTHER LIKE THAT.

By Dr. Harry Clarke Noyes

- Maria Chew, Director

Parent Ed
November 27 meeting, 7:30pm: Peaceful Sibling Relationships with Karen Wolfe
Hand-in-Hand instructor Karen Wolfe is back by popular demand to present on cultivating healthy and peaceful relationships among siblings. This has been a popular presentation in the past and is full of information on how you can support your children as the develop relationships with one another.

- Alyson Gembala, Parent Ed Chair (Theodore/AM)

Community Fundraising
Winterfest – Saturday, December 1, 10am-1pm! See you there!

It’s here! This coming Saturday, it’s Winterfest!! $5 to get in, includes our world famous baked potato bar, and a room full of free craft activities. Then, buy some activity tickets to do other cool stuff like gingerbread cookie decorating, ceramic painting, a reindeer makeover station, a photo booth, and fairy houses. Come to our annual wintry wonderland (there will be hot cocoa), hang out with friends, and get your December off to a great start! Invite friends, neighbors, relatives, grandparents, or whoever else you think might enjoy a fun-filled day of crafts at our very cool spot we call Laurel Hill. See you there!

Giorgio’s Pizza Night – Monday, November 26
Eat too much over Thanksgiving and need something nice and light? Then come to Giorgio’s pizza for dinner on Monday, November 26th! Mention Laurel Hill (and write “Laurel Hill” on the receipt) for all dine in and take out orders from 11am to 9pm and LH gets back a portion of the total amount!

Final Week of the Good Eggs Fundraiser!

Win a date night to Chez Panisse by shopping on Good Eggs this week! Shop between November 26 and November 30, and you could win a night out––on Good Eggs! Prize includes a Chez Panisse gift card, flowers, and food and childcare for the kids at home. The Laurel Hill Nursery School fundraiser ends Friday, November 30. So far we’ve place 45 orders as a community raising $228 for LH! Thank you so much!

How to join the fundraiser:

Visit schools.goodeggs.com
Enter the code ILOVELAURELHILL – click "Shop Now"
Add your groceries to your Good Eggs basket and check out

New customers get $15 off with this code and if 20 new customers join the fundraiser, our school also gets a $500 fundraising bonus. (We’ve had 5 new customers so far, so if 15 join this week, we get another $500.)

- Jason Kuo, Community Fundraising Chair (Hannah/AM)